John 8:36 “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

Some people have a hard time believing God has forgiven them. They live with guilt and feel like they can pay a kind of penance by beating themselves up over their sins. The fact remains that Christ has forgiven them. The fact that they are forgiven is something they need to receive by faith. They need to realize that “if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed”.

In Matthew 9 we find the story of a paralyzed man who was carried by his friends into the presence of Jesus. When Jesus saw the faith of his friends, he said to the man, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you”. This is the first time we see Jesus’ use of the phrase, “Be of good cheer,” and He used it when he was assuring a man that his sins were forgiven.

Now, they brought the man to Jesus to have him healed, not to have his sins forgiven. So Jesus went on to say, “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”, then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house”. He needed to receive and act on the promise. And the man did.

Jesus forgave the man’s sins and in this case, God’s forgiveness brought healing. God does His part, He offers forgiveness but then we need to do our part and receive His forgiveness and walk in His forgiveness. Are you living like you are forgiven? Or, are you living in guilt because you are unwilling to receive His forgiveness? Receive and act on the forgiveness you have been given.